In episode 3 of the Oasis Perspectives podcast, team member Jennie speaks with expert Luke Martin about victims and perpetrators of Domestic Abuse, and how he and services like ours are working to raise the voice of LGBTQ+ survivors. There’s a significant gap in stats and awareness, so how can we all help to close it?

❗ More than 1 in 4 gay men and lesbian women and more than 1 in 3 bisexual people report at least one form of domestic abuse since the age of 16. Studies also suggest that transgender people may experience similar if not higher levels of abuse.

Luke has established himself as one of the leading professionals in working with male and LGBT+ victims of domestic and sexual abuse. With over 15 years of experience working in the domestic and sexual abuse sector, Luke is now a consultant and the author of the updated Working with Male Victims Toolkit for Respect (2019), as well as Home Office Funded national standards for services working with male victims of abuse., Prior to this, Luke worked as the Domestic and Sexual Violence and Violence Against Women and Girls Training Lead for Brighton and Hove City Council, building and delivering over 20 training packages across the city.

He is also an associate for SafeLives, training Independent Domestic Violence Advisors and leads on many of Respect’s ‘Working with Male Victims’ training. Luke has worked with the Home office on the ‘This is Abuse’ campaign, and regularly lectures on men’s experiences of abuse, being a guest lecturer at Goldsmith’s University on MA Understanding Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse.